Paritta (Pawi), generawwy transwated as "protection" or "safeguard,"[1] refers to de Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures in order to ward off misfortune or danger, as weww as to de specific verses and discourses recited as paritta texts. The practice of reciting or wistening to de paritta suttas began very earwy in de history of Buddhism.[2]

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In de Pawi witerature, dese short verses are recommended by de Buddha as providing protection from certain affwictions. The bewief in de effective power to heaw, or protect, of de sacca-kiriya, or asseveration of someding qwite true is an aspect of de work ascribed to de paritta.[3]

It is awso widewy bewieved dat aww night recitations of paritta by monks bring safety, peace and weww-being to a community. Such recitations wiww awso occur on auspicious occasions, such as de inauguration of a new tempwe or home or to provide bwessings upon dose who hear. Conversewy, paritta discourses are recited on inauspicious occasions as weww, such as at a funeraw or on de deaf anniversary of a woved one. They may awso be recited to pwacate antagonistic spirits.[4][5]

Most paritta invowve offering praise to de Buddha or, more broadwy, de Tripwe Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha). Of dese paritta, one of de best known is de Ratana Sutta (Sn 2.1) where, for instance, it states in part:

Whatever treasure dere be eider here or in de worwd beyond, whatever precious jewew dere be in de heavenwy worwds, dere is nought comparabwe to de Tadagata (de Perfect One). This precious jewew is de Buddha. By dis (asseveration of de) truf may dere be happiness.[6]

A few paritta invowve de asking directwy for de aid of de Buddha. Exampwes of dis type of paritta verse can be seen in de Candima Sutta (SN 2.9) and Suriya Sutta (SN 2.10) of de Samyutta Nikaya. In dese two scriptures, de deities Canda and Surya protect demsewves from de attack of de ecwipse deity Rahu by reciting short verses praising de Buddha and pweading for his protection:

Anoder type of paritta rewies on de virtue of de individuaw who is ascribed as reciting de paritta in de Canon, rader dan making reference to de virtues of de Buddha. This type of paritta can be seen in de Anguwimawa Sutta, de story of de murderer-turned-monk Anguwimawa. On passing a pregnant woman experiencing a difficuwt wabor, Anguwimawa is moved to provide assistance. Asking de Buddha how he can hewp, de Buddha tewws him to provide a sort of bwessing to de woman by reciting a short verse procwaiming his own virtue:

Sister, since I was born in de nobwe birf, I do not recaww intentionawwy kiwwing a wiving being. Through dis truf may dere be wewwbeing for you, wewwbeing for your fetus.[9]

This verse is now used as a bwessing for expectant moders in de Theravada Buddhist tradition, uh-hah-hah-hah.[10]

The Buddha and de arahants (de Consummate Ones) can concentrate on de paritta suttas widout de aid of anoder. However, when dey are iww, it is easier for dem to wisten to what oders recite, and dus focus deir minds on de dhamma dat de suttas contain, rader dan dink of de dhamma by demsewves. There are occasions, as in de case of iwwness, which weaken de mind (in de case of worwdwings), when hetero-suggestion has been found to be more effective dan autosuggestion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2] In de Giwana Sutta, even de Buddha Himsewf had de Seven Factors of Enwightenment recited to him by anoder monk to recover from a grave iwwness.[11]

Whiwe paritta texts generawwy are recited awoud, oder mediums are known as weww. In Thaiwand, paritta texts are printed on smaww pieces of cwof containing images of de Buddha or famous monks. Simiwar text- often in de Khom script- is sometimes incorporated into tattoos bewieved to have protective powers, known as Sak Yant.

Paritta discourses are widewy used and known, even if not necessariwy understood, droughout de Theravada Buddhist worwd. Popuwar cowwections of paritta verses are among de most widewy known Pawi texts in many Theravada countries.

An exampwe of such a cowwection is de Sinhawa Pirit Poda ("The Book of Protection"), awso known as Maha Pirit Poda and de Catubhanavarapawi ("Text of de Four Recitaws"). It has awso been referred to as "The Buddhist Bibwe." This cowwection is typicawwy given an important pwace in de Buddhist home, and is even treated wif veneration, uh-hah-hah-hah. The book contains a cowwection of twenty-four or twenty-nine discourses (suttas)[note 1] awmost aww dewivered by de Buddha, and found scattered in de five originaw cowwections (nikayas) in Pawi, which form de Sutta Pitaka, de "Canonicaw Discourses."[2] Bewow, dese discourses and rewated canonicaw sources are identified.[note 2]

^Of de twenty-nine paritta texts wisted bewow, Piyadassi (1999a) does not incwude de first five texts as part of de twenty-four discourses dat he incwudes in de cowwection, awdough he identifies de first five texts as prewiminary materiaw. Anandajoti (2004) enumerates aww twenty-nine texts as part of de paritta cowwection, uh-hah-hah-hah.